According to police, a caller first reported around noon an erratic operator on Cedar Street, apparently before the vehicle turned onto Fortune Boulevard and continued to operate erratically, crossing the center line and striking the fire hydrant and pole on the opposite side of the street before flipping onto its roof.

The impact caused the vehicle to burst into flames and employees of the nearby DCH Toyota dealership to come to the aid of the driver, using a small fire extinguisher on the fire.

When that didn’t work, Patrick McDonald, a salesman and Jerry Etienne, a Liberty Mutual representative, broke the rear window to try to pull the person out, but “there was too much fire,” McDonald said.

The two yelled for the person trapped in the vehicle to respond, but there was no response. Through the flames, they could make out the person’s hand, but it wasn’t moving.

They expressed their remorse for the victim’s family and lamented that they couldn’t have done more.

“We tried as hard as we could,” McDonald said. “We’re sorry.”

Another employee, Finance Manager Austin Bond, described the vehicle as a Ford Explorer. A photo he captured shows the vehicle heavily engulfed in flames. (The photo was deemed too graphic to print).

Once the fire department responded, the flames were put out quickly, but the victim couldn’t be saved.

The busy road is known for traffic and speed, and the latter likely played a factor, police said.

At the scene, Lt. James Falvey said police were unsure of the number of occupants in the vehicle, but police later confirmed there was just one - the elderly man.

Officers were already on their way to the area for the erratic driver call when they saw the thick black cloud from the vehicle, Falvey said.

Firefighters and police searched the nearby wooded area to search for possible ejections, but none were located.

“It’s a good thing nobody was coming from the other direction,” Falvey said. “It’s a bad accident and it could have been worse.”

Police aren't releasing the victim's name pending family notification.

A large stretch of the road was blocked off as investigators completed their work.